


A Matter of Assumptions

by ShinjiShazaki



Series: "Request" Fics [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/F, Found Family, I got to add my ship prefs with Leonie so I am very happy, I'm very happy, request fic, the prompt was silliness with Leonie Edelgard and a question
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:28:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27072739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShinjiShazaki/pseuds/ShinjiShazaki
Summary: Leonie Pinelli knows, perfectly well, that the emperor of all Fódlan shouldn't be kept waiting.  Still, she doesn't like the idea of settling in Enbarr instead of going back out to do mercenary work and--What do you mean that's not the question Edelgard wants to ask her?  What about Byleth now?
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth, Lysithea von Ordelia/Leonie Pinelli
Series: "Request" Fics [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2170344
Comments: 9
Kudos: 142





	A Matter of Assumptions

**Author's Note:**

> A "request" fic from [twitter user Ashley](https://twitter.com/Ashley_Rose_), check the notes for info!

Leonie Pinelli was not known for making difficult decisions while sober, but she sat in the corner of one of Enbarr’s taverns with only water before her one afternoon. She fidgeted as Jeralt had often told her not to, drumming her fingers on the table as she picked at her food. When she thought of how Byleth had gently touched her head during lectures when she’d fidgeted, she went still. Sighing, she rubbed the back of her neck.

“This isn’t how I wanted today to go,” she mumbled. “Why do I have to go in front of _her_ of all people?”

“ _There_ you are!”

Leonie straightened up, turning at the sound of Lysithea’s impatient voice. Lysithea, frowning to match her tone, stomped through the tavern and came to a stop next to Leonie with her hands on her hips. Despite the winning smile Leonie gave her, she continued to frown.

“You said you had a summons to go before her majesty today!” Lysithea said. “What in the world are you doing in _here_?” She looked at the cup before Leonie; her frown darkened. “I _swear_ , if that’s ale—”

“No, just water!” Leonie said, holding up both hands. “Come on, you and Byleth both have gotten after me about drinking so much. I wouldn’t be drinking in the middle of the day without a battle beforehand. And definitely not before meeting with the emperor of all people.”

“Then what are you doing here? You could get a free meal in the palace, you know.”

“Gathering my courage, I guess.” She sighed and patted the chair beside her. “C’mon, just sit with me for a little while.”

“You could’ve _asked_ if you wanted my company,” Lysithea said, pouting a bit as she sat down.

“I needed to have time alone,” Leonie said. “It’s not every day that you get a summons to go before an emperor by yourself.”

Lysithea looked at her, seeing the tension in her shoulders. She hesitated, fingertips barely brushing Leonie’s skin, before setting a hand on her arm. She asked, “Are you worried about it?”

“Yeah. I don’t want to have to be that asshole who turns down an offer from _Edelgard_. She took down a dragon, y‘know.”

“With the professor’s help. But what do you think you’re going to be turning down?”

“Permanent employment in the imperial army.” She sighed, drumming her fingers on the table. “Some of my men are chomping at the bit for the chance, but…that’s never been my goal. I came to support Byleth and her cause, full stop. I’m no good at being tied down to one place. _Place_ , before you get worried. I want you with me, if you don’t mind being the wife of a mercenary.”

Lysithea pushed on her arm. “I’m the one who said you’re husband material. As long as we can come back when Linhardt finds the miracle for me and Edelgard, I’ll be glad to go with you. But you _really_ need to go talk to Edelgard. Assumptions are rarely correct and I would appreciate it if you would kept your appointment.”

Leonie gave her a curious look. “Did Edelgard send you to look for me?”

“ _Yes_ , and I am not a hunter like you. I’ve been wandering around for an hour.”

She winced. “Sorry.”

“Pay your tab and come with me and we’ll be even.”

Leonie nodded, settling her tab with a few copper coins before leaving the tavern with Lysithea on her arm. It was a pleasure strolling the streets as a couple, the war and its terrors steadily falling away behind them. On any other day, they would’ve chatted about shops they passed by, things to buy or treats to indulge in. Then, with Leonie looking so thoughtful, Lysithea kept quiet in favor of holding her arm just a bit tighter.

The imperial palace was the very image of refinement, one that Leonie doubted she would ever grow used to. She marveled at how easily Byleth walked through the hallowed marble halls, but she tended to marvel at everything Byleth did after helping Edelgard bring a dragon’s rule to an end. Seeing Byleth with a smile—a genuine smile with just as much heart as Jeralt’s grins—was astonishing. It was something she’d never expected to see in her life, and the moment she saw Byleth’s smile she knew her choice to leave the Deer had been the right one.

Lysithea led her straight to the imperial audience chamber, much though she’d tried to steer them elsewhere. At the end, Leonie found herself being pushed forcefully into the room, Lysithea following and closing the door firmly to keep her from escaping. It was then that Leonie saw Edelgard, sitting in her throne, but not Hubert. She looked about, but could not tell if he was hidden away in some alcove. When she realized that not another soul was in the room with them, she crossed her arms and tilted her head in confusion.

“Your majesty?” she said, moving closer to the throne. “Where’s your scary shadow?”

“I asked Hubert to give me a bit of privacy,” Edelgard said. “And now that you’ve been delivered, I ask the same of Lysithea. Thank you for your help, Lysithea.”

“You’re welcome,” Lysithea said, bowing to her. She left the room after looking at Leonie significantly.

“General Pinelli,” Edelgard said, “I have a request to make of you.”

“Wait, hang on a minute,” Leonie said. “It’s an honor to have fought with you and Byleth, but I’m not a soldier. I’m a mercenary, and I intend to go back to that line of work once I’ve settled a few things here and Lys can come with me.”

Edelgard looked at her, eyes wide and brows raised. She smiled slightly and leaned forward, elbows on her knees. Chuckling, she asked, “Leonie…what do you think I called you here for?”

“To…offer me a permanent position in the army?”

She laughed, hiding her mouth behind her hand. “The professor has made it very clear that she wants you to have the freedom to choose your path as a mercenary, despite how much of a boon it would be to have you in our forces permanently. I brought you here to ask a question. To ask…permission.”

Leonie boggled. “What do you think you need to ask _me_ permission for?”

“For Byleth’s hand.” When Leonie only stared at her, she said, “For her hand in marriage.”

“No, I got that part,” Leonie said. “What’s confusing is that you think you need to ask _me_.”

“It is customary in Adrestia to ask your partner’s _parents_ for permission to marry them,” Edelgard said. “But when a parent is not available, we ask siblings. Sisters. And…when the professor told me that she did not want you tied down, she phrased it as ‘I don’t want my sister to be stuck where she doesn’t want to be.’”

Leonie had been kicked by several horses in her life. She knew how it felt to be winded, and she could say with perfect experience that Edelgard’s words left her completely without breath.

“She did?” she asked quietly.

“Yes. As you are her closest family…and one of the people most affected by Jeralt’s passing…you are the only person I feel comfortable asking.”

“You really want to marry that weirdo?” Leonie asked, grinning.

“She is not a—General, please. The professor is a bit odd, yes, but we all have our foibles.”

“She didn’t even start smiling right until a few weeks ago, you know.”

“I am aware. But it doesn’t change my mind in the slightest.”

“She won’t know how to be affectionate, I’m pretty sure. Jeralt really wasn’t good at teaching that to anyone.”

Edelgard raised a brow at her. “What she does to show her affection for me is our business alone.”

Leonie laughed. “Fair enough. But y’know, she really is an oddball. It’s an odd matchup for an emperor.”

For a moment, Edelgard opened her mouth as if to rebuke her again. Then, she closed her mouth and smiled. Eventually, she said, “I see. This is your way of giving permission.”

“Maybe a little. Look, your majesty, I wasn’t great at being a sister to Byleth at the monastery, and I _really_ wasn’t great at it when Jeralt died. The fact that she called me her sister is— _a lot_. So I need _you_ to be more sure about being her wife than I was about being her sister before I can say ‘go ahead.’”

“Leonie,” Edelgard said, “the fact that I am asking _you_ when I was in league with Jeralt’s killers should tell you how certain I am that I want to marry the prof—Byleth. I want to marry Byleth more than anything.”

“It really does,” Leonie said, smiling. “That’s all I need to hear. She really couldn’t do much better than the emperor of all Fódlan.”

Edelgard’s shoulders sagged with relief for just a few seconds, but she brought them back up with a quick, sharp inhale. She inclined her head politely and said, “Thank you, General Pinelli. I promise I will treat Byleth with all the care and love she is owed.”

“You better!” Leonie laughed. “I don’t want to have to come back to Enbarr because she’s upset with her wifey-dear!”

“It would be best if you treated _Lysithea_ with all the care and love she is owed as well,” Edelgard said, and the sharpness of her smile made Leonie swallow hard. “It would not do to have the emperor come see why her little sister is unhappy.”

Leonie laughed once more, and she grinned when Edelgard finally began to laugh with her.

**Author's Note:**

> If you're interested in getting in on "request" fics, take a gander at my pinned tweet on [my twitter](https://twitter.com/shinjishazaki) for more info!


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